Saudi crown prince's carefully managed rise hides dark side

In a kingdom once ruled by an ever-aging rotation of elderly monarchs, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stands out as the youthful face of a youthful nation. But behind the carefully calibrated public-relations campaign pushing images of the smiling prince meeting with the world's top leaders and business executives lurks a darker side.

Last year, at age 31, Mohammed became the kingdom's crown prince, next in line to the throne now held by his octogenarian father, King Salman. While pushing for women to drive, he has overseen the arrest of women's rights activists. While calling for foreign investment, he has imprisoned businessmen, royals and others in a crackdown on corruption that soon resembled a shakedown of the kingdom's most powerful people.

As Saudi defense minister from the age of 29, he pursued a war in Yemen against Shiite rebels that began a month after he took the helm and wears on today.

What the crown prince chooses next likely will affect the world's largest oil producer for decades to come. And as the disappearance and feared death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul may show, the young prince will brook no dissent in reshaping the kingdom in his image.

"I don't want to waste my time," he told Time Magazine in a cover story this year. "I am young."

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who wrote several columns for The Washington Post critical of Prince Mohammed, disappeared Oct. 2 on a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials have offered no evidence, but say they fear the writer was killed and dismembered by a Saudi team of 15 men — an operation that, if carried out, would have to have been authorized by the top of the Al Saud monarchy. The kingdom describes the allegation as "baseless," but has provided no proof that Khashoggi ever left the consulate.

For decades in Saudi Arabia, succession passed down among the dozens of sons of the kingdom's founder, King Abdul-Aziz. And, over time, the sons have grown older and older upon reaching the throne.

When King Salman took power in January of 2015 and quickly appointed Prince Mohammed as defense minister, it took the kingdom by surprise, especially given the importance of the position and the prince's age.

He was little-known among the many grandchildren of Saudi Arabia's patriarch, a young man educated only in the kingdom who stuck close to his father, who previously served as the governor of Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

As defense minister, he entered office facing a crisis in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, which lies south of the kingdom. Shiite rebels known as Houthis had overrun the country's capital, Sanaa, unseating the deeply unpopular government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

When Hadi fled and it appeared the country's port city of Aden would fall to the rebels, Saudi Arabia launched a coalition war against the Houthis — a conflict that soon became a stalemate.

The United Nations estimates 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen's conflict, and activists say that number is likely far higher. It has exacerbated what the U.N. calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with hunger and cholera stalking civilians, worsened by the kingdom's blockade of ports.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has faced widespread criticism for its airstrikes hitting clinics and marketplaces, which have killed civilians. The Houthis, as well, have indiscriminately used landmines and arrested political opponents.

The coalition says Iran has funneled weapons to the Houthis ranging from small arms to the ballistic missiles now regularly fired into the kingdom, which Iran denies.

For Prince Mohammed, the conflict remains part of what he sees as an existential struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for the future of the Middle East. Asked about Western concerns over civilian casualties, he offers this: "Mistakes happen in all wars."

"We don't need to have a new Hezbollah in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a red line not only for Saudi Arabia but for the whole world," the prince recently told Bloomberg, referring to the Iran-allied Shiite militant group and political party dominant in Lebanon.

The prince also found himself involved in the bizarre resignation-by-television address of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who announced he would step down during a visit to the kingdom in November 2017, fueling suspicion he was coerced into doing so.

Prince Mohammed's harsh rhetoric extends to likening Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler. He's also hinted Saudi Arabia would be willing to fight Iran in other ways, leading Tehran to link the kingdom to an attack on a military parade in Ahvaz last month that killed at least 24 people killed and wounded more than 60. Both Arab separatists and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the assault.

"We won't wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia," the prince told the Saudi-owned broadcasting company MBC last year. "Instead, we will work so that the battle is for them in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia."

His aggressive posture against Iran has won the support of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, which pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal struck by President Barack Obama, whom the kingdom deeply distrusted.

Before becoming crown prince, Prince Mohammed visited the White House and forged a close relationship with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. The two are believed to be working on the administration's peace plans for Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump made Riyadh his first stop overseas as president, a visit complete with Arab pageantry and opulence. Behind the scenes, many analysts believe Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates saw a greenlight to move ahead with the ongoing boycott of Qatar, a small Arabian Peninsula nation, over a political dispute.

Trump initially seemed to favor the boycott of Qatar, which is home to al-Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command.

Trump's first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, sought in vain to pressure the Saudis into resolving the spat and complained privately that the ties between the White House and Prince Mohammed were hurting the effort, officials said at the time. Tillerson's dismissal in March and the arrival of Mike Pompeo as Trump's top diplomat markedly reduced the State Department's heat on Saudi Arabia about the detentions of human rights activists, including women, and the conflict in Yemen.

Despite the mounting civilian casualties in Yemen, Pompeo certified to Congress in September that Saudi Arabia was taking steps to reduce and limit them, drawing severe condemnations from lawmakers and human rights groups.

Saudi Arabia soon embarked on the prince's ambitious proposal to allow women in the ultraconservative Wahhabi nation to drive. The resulting pictures of women in long black abayas behind the wheel represented a public-relations coup for the image-shaping firms employed by the kingdom, as did footage of women attending soccer matches and movie theaters for the first time in decades.

But before women started their engines, a new crackdown emerged: The kingdom rounded up and imprisoned women's rights activists, including reportedly grabbing one woman who was in the neighboring United Arab Emirates.

Prince Mohammed has wowed the business world with promises of an initial public offering for the state oil behemoth Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, suggesting it would have a $2 trillion valuation. Stocks markets around the world have pitched having the IPO on their exchanges, but it has been repeatedly delayed.

The young prince has traveled across the U.S. as part of his business pitch, meeting leaders like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post.

Prince Mohammed also hosted a major business summit at Riyadh's Ritz Carlton, complete with a humanoid robot named Sophia being awarded Saudi citizenship.

Only weeks later, the hotel turned into a luxury prison as part of a mass arrest of businessmen, royals and others orchestrated by Prince Mohammed in a move described as targeting corruption. Those released agreed to sign over some of their assets, however, giving it the feel of a shakedown.

"If I have the power and the king has the power to take action against influential people, then you are already fundamentally strong," Prince Mohammed told CBS earlier this year.

For now, the anger over Khashoggi's disappearance appears to have galvanized international criticism of the young prince, about whom the columnist wrote critically for the Post.

Trump, already angry over rising global oil prices, has said he wants answers from Saudi Arabia and suggested Khashoggi's fiancee could visit the White House.

Prominent American lawmakers also are indignant — though U.S.-Saudi relations have survived even the 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers being from the kingdom.

The opaqueness of the Al Saud royal family makes it difficult to see what effect the controversy is having on support for Prince Mohammed at home. State television continues to air footage of him attending meetings and greeting officials as if all is normal.

And as the son of the king, analysts say he has the full protection of the throne's powers.

Once asked if anything could stop him, the prince gave a two-word reply: "Only death."

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biggest military bases faces being kicked out of the Army for allegedly grabbing a woman's breasts at a regimental dinner. </p><p>Colonel John Musgrave, 53, has been suspended after he was accused of groping the 24-year-old civilian girlfriend of one of his junior officers.</p><p>The alleged incident took place on October 20 after a dinner attended by wives and girlfriends at Larkhill Barracks, where Col. Musgrave is commanding officer.</p><p>Royal Military Police launched an investigation after his behaviour was reported by another senior officer who made a complaint.</p><p>He is being investigated for 'inappropriate sexual conduct' towards the woman, as he is accused of making inappropriate comments about her and grabbing her.</p><p>Colonel John Musgrave, 53, commander of Larkhill Barracks in Wiltshire, has been suspended after he was accused of groping a woman's breasts after a regimental dinner last month</p><p>The alleged incident took place on October 20 after a dinner attended by wives and girlfriends at Larkhill Barracks, near Salisbury Plain, where Col. Musgrave is commanding officer</p><p>A source from the dinner, which was attended by Col. Musgrave's wife, told MailOnline: 'The meal was over and, as is usual on these occasions, a lot of drink had been taken. </p><p>'Col. Musgrave had been drinking and was heard making sexually inappropriate comments to a female visitor about her breasts.</p><p>'He was then seen pulling the woman out of the room and into a corridor.</p><p>'That is when another senior officer stepped in. He wasn't intimidated by the rank and decided to do something and told the Colonel to leave.' </p><p>The woman's boyfriend is a lower-ranking officer, a 2nd Lieutenant, who was said to be 'angry' over the incident, but had not confronted his commanding officer.</p><p>The source added: 'Her boyfriend was a very junior officer and was powerless to do anything.</p><p>'If you want a career in the Army you do not say anything to someone so senior as a Colonel and certainly not the commander of the base.'</p><p>Following the complaint, Col. Musgrave was suspended as commander of Larkhill Barracks, Wiltshire, and home to the Royal Artillery.</p><p>He then jetted off to Las Vegas for a family holiday but has since returned and been questioned by military police.</p><p>The young woman involved will also be interviewed along with other witnesses at the dinner. </p><p>Royal Military Police launched an investigation after Col. Musgrave's behaviour was reported by another senior officer who made a complaint and the senior officer has been suspended</p><p>If the allegations against Col. Musgrave are proved they would be 'career ending', added the military source.</p><p>He has served in Germany, Italy and Afghanistan and has represented the Army at military conferences around the world as an expert on modern firepower. His three years in Italy was on attachment to NATO. </p><p>As Lieutenant Colonal and commanding officer of the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, based in Catterick, he handed out HM Armed Forces Veterans Medals just a day before heading out for duty in Afghanistan.</p><p>And he has spoken movingly in the past when his men have been killed fighting in Afrghanistan. </p><p>Paying tribute to Warrant Officer Class 2 Sean Upton, who died in an explosion while on foot patrol in Sangin district, Helmand province, in 2009, he said: 'Fifth Regiment has lost a truly dedicated and exemplary soldier and man who was a role model to all he met and worked with, always living and working to the highest standards, but also always with a smile on his face and a ready laugh.'</p><p>An Army spokesman said: 'We can confirm that a member of staff from The Royal School of Artillery has been suspended pending an investigation. Anybody who falls short of the Army's high standards will be dealt with and may face sanctions including dismissal.</p><p>'Any inappropriate conduct by Army personnel is not tolerated and we encourage anyone who may have been affected by such behaviour to report it to the appropriate authorities.'</p><p>Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.</p><p>Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday &amp; Metro Media Group</p>

sion of Santa Claus to the Netherlands amid a fierce national debate about his helper "Black Pete."</p><p>
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ome periods of human history infamous for death and suffering but one year stands above the rest in terms of misery; 536AD.</p><p>According to research from a Harvard professor, it is a prime candidate for the unfortunate accolade of the worst year in the entirety of recorded history.</p><p>Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia were plunged into 18 months of solid darkness by a mysterious fog.</p><p>The bleak year was triggered by a cataclysmic Icelandic eruption, scientists say, and was an ominous omen for a bleak century of suffering and death. </p><p>According to research from a Harvard professor, the year 536AD is a prime candidate for the unfortunate accolade as the worst year in the entirety of human history. The bleak year kick-started the coldest decade for more than two millennia </p><p>'It was the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive, if not the worst year,' Dr McCormick said. </p><p>The eerie fog created a drab world with darkness residing over the northern hemisphere for 18 months, with an unrelenting dusk persevering through day and night.</p><p>Effects on the climate were so severe that the Irish chronicles tell of 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539'.</p><p>Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell between 1.5°C (2.7°F) and 2.5°C (4.5°F), initiating the coldest decade in the past 2,300 years. </p><p>The international devastation triggered by the unidentified fog gave rise to the moniker 'The Dark Ages' which has been used to refer to this ominous time. </p><p>Causes of the event have remained a mystery to scientists since it was first discovered via tree ring analysis that the world's temperature dipped for several years at this point in time.</p><p> Dr McCormick and glaciologist Paul Mayewski at the Climate Change Institute of The University of Maine (UM) in Orono believe to have finally put the riddle to bed.</p><p>Analysis of ice cores - natural time capsules of Earth's geological past - also unearthed that two eruptions followed in 540 AD and 547 AD. </p><p>Incessant volcanic activity is believed to have produced millions of tonnes of ash which spread over vast swathes of the world. It caused snowfall in China, continental-scale crop failure and extreme drought and famine throughout most of the northern hemisphere (file photo)</p><p>A cataclysmic volcanic eruption in Iceland created a huge cloud that resided over most of the northern hemisphere for 18 months. </p><p>The eerie fog caused an unrelenting dusk persevering throughout day and night.</p><p>Effects on the climate were so severe that the Irish chronicles tell of 'a failure of bread from the years 536–539'.</p><p>Temperatures in the summer of 536 fell 1.5°C to 2.5°C, initiating the coldest decade in the past 2,300 years. </p><p>This introduced a period of economic ruin which would steadfastly remain in place until a century later. </p><p>Incessant volcanic activity is believed to have produced millions of tonnes of ash which spread over vast swathes of the world.</p><p>The authors of the study write that this introduced a period of economic ruin which would steadfastly remain in place until a century later. </p><p>It was evidence of lead, and subsequently the smelting of silver, which rejuvenated the world's economy and finally abated the suffering triggered by the 536 AD eruption.</p><p>The ice core analysis revealed that sulphur, bismuth and tephra deposits precede every unusually cold summer and found one for this beleaguered year. </p><p>Spikes in the ice core for lead proved smelting was taking place to create silver and this coincides with the advent of coin minting which helped revive the economy, according to archaeologist Christopher Loveluck of the University of Nottingham.</p><p>A further peak in 660AD told the researchers that silver became the coinage of choice, likely due to a lack of gold, and </p><p>
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a combined population of 20 million are some of East Asia’s most important wetlands, where rare birds sing out amid traditional shrimp ponds.</p><p>Look up, and looming right above this rustic setting are the crush of skyscrapers in Shenzhen, China, almost close enough to touch. Just out of view behind some hills to the south are the congested streets of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.</p><p>But in this corner of northwest Hong Kong, tens of thousands of cormorants, herons, egrets, sandpipers and other birds, including endangered species like the black-faced spoonbill, gather each winter to feed on the mud flats. 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A series of blazes this spring scorched parts of Nam Sang Wai.</p><p>It is not the first time suspicious fires have burned in the area, which environmentalists and officials believe may have been set to undermine its ecological value.</p><p>Police say they are investigating, but have arrested no suspects. Last year during a public hearing, a representative of a company that has applied to develop the area denied it had any role in the blazes.</p><p>“There has been a longtime struggle between the landowners and preservationists about the future of that piece of wetland,” said Eddie Chu, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council who represents the area and has called for protection of Nam Sang Wai.</p><p>Seen from above, the wetlands look like a net, with thin bands of land looping around blue blocks of water.</p><p>For centuries, rice paddies filled the area. 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The ponds, known as gei wai, make use of the tides to suck in young shrimp from Deep Bay. The ponds are then closed off, allowing the shrimp to grow in protected lagoons, until they are harvested by draining the water during an ebb tide.</p><p>The World Wide Fund for Nature in Hong Kong operates 21 gei wai in the reserve. 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e President Mike Pence pushed back against criticism of each of their countries’ trade practices in speeches on Saturday at an Asia-Pacific trade summit meeting in Papua New Guinea, while seeking to assure allies of their commitment to the region.</p><p>Mr. Xi and Mr. Pence spoke ahead of what is likely to be a tense meeting between President Trump and the Chinese leader at the Group of 20 conference in Argentina later this month, where they will attempt to defuse a trade war.</p><p>The Trump administration has accused China of unfair trade practices, including restricting market access, pushing American companies to hand over valuable technology and engaging in cyberespionage and intellectual property theft. It has put tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods; China has retaliated with tariffs of its own.</p><p>Mr. Pence, echoing warnings from Mr. Trump, said the United States could “more than double” the tariffs it had placed on $250 billion in Chinese goods.</p><p>“The United States, though, will not change course until China changes its ways,” Mr. Pence said.</p><p>He urged Asian nations to avoid investment offers from China and to choose instead a “better option” — working with the United States — which, he said, would not saddle them with debt, a quandary some countries are facing as a result of their partnerships with Beijing.</p><p>“Let me say to all the nations across this wider region, and the world: Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty,” Mr. Pence said.</p><p>“We don’t drown our partners in a sea of debt,” he added. “We don’t coerce or compromise your independence. We do not offer a constricting belt or a one-way road. When you partner with us, we partner with you, and we all prosper.”</p><p>Mr. Xi, perhaps anticipating the criticism, spoke before Mr. Pence and disputed the notion that accepting Chinese investment as part of the initiative called “One Belt, One Road” would compromise a nation’s sovereignty.</p><p>The initiative “is not for geopolitical purposes; it will exclude no one; it will not close a door and create a small circle,” Mr. Xi said. “It is not the so-called trap, as some people say. It is the sunshine avenue where China shares opportunities with the world to seek common development.”</p><p>Mr. Xi sought to paint China as continually opening its markets to the world.</p><p>“China will continue to significantly relax market access, strengthen intellectual property protection and actively expand imports,” he said. Since the beginning of this year, Mr. Xi said, China has “significantly” reduced import tariffs on 1,449 consumer goods, 1,585 industrial products and vehicles and components.</p><p>He described the trade dispute as a choice between “win-win progress or a zero sum game.”</p><p>“Mankind has once again reached a crossroads,” Mr. Xi said. “Which direction should we choose? Cooperation or confrontation? Openness or closing doors?”</p><p>Mr. Pence and Mr. Xi may have been sending mixed messages with their speeches, said Brendan Taylor, an associate professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University.</p><p>“The extent to which Mr. Xi tried to reassure the region that he didn’t have any geopolitical ambitions — I don’t think that’s particularly convincing,” Mr. Taylor said.</p><p>He described Mr. Pence’s speech as having a “very strong ‘America First’ tone,” adding, “There’s quite a big gap between his rhetoric and what’s actually happening in the region.”</p><p>Other nations in the region were hedging their bets, he said. “The moves those countries are making relate to their uncertainties about the U.S. and the Trump strategy or lack thereof,” Mr. Taylor said.</p><p>The two leaders discussed economic cooperation and the possibility of the Japanese military participating in training exercises in Darwin, where about 2,000 American Marines rotate through each year.</p><p>In his speech on Saturday, Mr. Pence lauded the economic and military cooperation between the United States and its Asia-Pacific allies, and he warned China that American ships and jets would sail and fly anywhere allowed by international law.</p><p>Chinese military forces have confronted American and other foreign navies and aircraft that have entered waters in the South China Sea that China claims as its own.</p><p>“The United States of America will continue to uphold the freedom of the seas and the skies, which are so essential to our prosperity,” Mr. Pence said.</p><p>He said the United States would support efforts “to adopt a meaningful and binding code of conduct that respects the rights of all nations, including the freedom of navigation, in the South China Sea.”</p><p>He also announced that the United States would participate in an Australian-Papua New Guinea initiative to develop a naval base on Manus Island in the Bismarck Sea, in northern Papua New Guinea.</p>

t Hassan Rouhani said they discussed increasing trade in electricity and oil products and the establishment of free trade zones along the border. He said they also discussed joint oil projects and improving transport links between the two countries.</p><p>
Trade between the two countries was some $7 billion in 2017, and they have vowed to boost it to $8.5 billion this year. Rouhani said it could eventually reach $20 billion a year.</p><p>
Salih also pledged to improve ties, and suggested the formation of a "new regional system" including Iraq and Iran, one based on "political integrity, national interests and cooperation between nations and governments." He did not elaborate.</p><p>
Since then, Trump announced what he billed as the "toughest ever" sanctions against Iran, and the country has seen its oil exports plunge and its currency lose more than half its value. The full brunt of the measures came into effect Nov. 5 when the U.S. re-imposed oil and banking sanctions.</p><p>
The U.S., which provided crucial military support to Iraq in its battle against the Islamic State group, has granted Iraq a 45-day waiver to allow it to continue to purchase gas and electricity from Iran.</p><p>
Salih said Iraq should not be "a field for struggle between conflicting demands and wills."</p>

t Hassan Rouhani said they discussed increasing trade in electricity and oil products and the establishment of free trade zones along the border. He said they also discussed joint oil projects and improving transport links between the two countries.</p><p>
Trade between the two countries was some $7 billion in 2017, and they have vowed to boost it to $8.5 billion this year. Rouhani said it could eventually reach $20 billion a year.</p><p>
Salih also pledged to improve ties, and suggested the formation of a "new regional system" including Iraq and Iran, one based on "political integrity, national interests and cooperation between nations and governments." He did not elaborate.</p><p>
Since then, Trump announced what he billed as the "toughest ever" sanctions against Iran, and the country has seen its oil exports plunge and its currency lose more than half its value. The full brunt of the measures came into effect Nov. 5 when the U.S. re-imposed oil and banking sanctions.</p><p>
The U.S., which provided crucial military support to Iraq in its battle against the Islamic State group, has granted Iraq a 45-day waiver to allow it to continue to purchase gas and electricity from Iran.</p><p>
Salih said Iraq should not be "a field for struggle between conflicting demands and wills."</p>

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